Re: CONGA CAMP - Study with Johnny Conga
Postby 440ranch » Sun Jan 19, 2014 1:39 pm
I just returned last night from a week at Jonny Conga's intensive...
I'm already planning a time when I can go back.
No BS here, it started with JC picking me up at the airport on a Sunday evening, we had dinner at a Cuban restaurant and hit the drums the next morning... For 6+ hours a day! everyday for 5 days.
I have to admit, I thought for sure it would go down something like... He would give me an exercise, and then come back in half an hour while I worked on it. No way... He sat right next to me every hour of every day for the entire week. " sit up straight... relax your hands...breathe...Don't tap the drum, hit it...not enough wrist...get your hand off the drum...mark your time...you're too stiff...
JC is a guy who believes TEACHING is an art form, and he is good at it. He has a system, it's not random, he has thought it thru...He breaks it down so that you are doing something you understand, and you understand WHY you are doing it. A lot of guys can play, but not every guy who can play...can teach. Johnny Conga can do both.
I really felt like it wasn't just a job for JC...he was sincerely interested in me being successful. He did everything he could do to make sure I got the most out of everyday I spent there. Many days, we worked late, no complaint, no reminder that the lesson was over... We went as long as I lasted. And, when we weren't playing, we were watching DVDs of Cuban Rumberos, or listening to Mongo or Puente from records he bought 45 years ago... Awesome.
Maggie is a cheerful, gracious hostess, always smiling, and took a stranger into her house and made him feel comfortable, and welcome. Thank you Maggie.
There is not enough time for me to have been able to learn as much as I learned from JC on my own. It is amazing to me that he was so willing to give me so much of what took him a lifetime to accomplish. I will be forever grateful to JC for giving me that.
440ranch
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2012 4:36 pm